Russia blasts Saudi Arabia talks on ending war in Ukraine after Moscow gets no invitation to attend

By HANNA ARHIROVA and JIM HEINTZ
Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia’s Foreign Ministry has chided efforts by international officials meeting in Saudi Arabia to find a peaceful settlement for the Ukraine war. It says the talks do not have “the slightest added value” because Moscow — unlike Kyiv — wasn’t invited. Senior officials from around 40 countries gathered Sunday in Jeddah for a two-day meeting that aims to agree on key principles about how to end the conflict that has raged for more than 17 months. But a foreign ministry statement said Monday that without Russia’s participation and without taking into account Moscow’s interests, the meeting was pointless. It repeated previous assurances that Russia is open to a diplomatic solution that ends the war and is ready to respond to serious proposals.